Fleshing-machine.



W. G. GIBBINS. DECD.

'H. GIBBINS. EXECUTOR.

FLESHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-Z1, I916.

Patented Feb. 19, 1918.,

onrrnn sra rns r as r WILLIAM G. GIBBLNS, OE ST. LGUIS, MISSOURI; HENRY G'IBBINS EXECUTOR, 0F SAID WILLIAM G. GIBBONS, DECEASED.

FLESHING-MACHINE Application filed. August 21, 1916.

1' b all WZLONY/ it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. Grooms, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented cvtain new and useful Improvements in Flcshing-Vlachincs, of which the folio ing is a full, clear, and exact description, ref :ence being had to the accompanying drailings, this specification.

My invention relates to a fieshing machine adapted for use in removing superfloos flesh, etc, from a imal skins.

My invention has for its olfcct to provide means permitting the accurate adjustment of guards relative to the cutting edges of rotary fieshing knives, and to different positions around the axes of the knives so that skins to be fleshed may be presented to the knives in the most satisfactory manner by all operators.

With the foregoing;- and other objects in view the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying draw ings wherein is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, it is to be understood that the invention comprehends changes, variations and modifications which come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Figure I is a side elevation of a fleshing machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. II is a vertical section, partly in elevation. v

Fig. III is a fragmentary side elevation showing the side opposite to that shown in Fig. I.

Fig. IV is a fragmentary horizontal sec tion taken approximately on the line IVIV, Fig. I.

A designates a supporting frame provided with a pair of projecting bearing members '1. A shaft member 2, arranged between the side members of the frame A, is rotatably supported by the points of a pair of screws 3 (Fig. II).

The fleshing knife B comprises a circular body 4 having its outer marginal portion turned laterally, at an obtuse angle, to form an'outwardly flaring annular blade 5. The knife is preferably made of thin metal reinforced by stificning disks 6 and 7 between.

Specification of Letters Patent.

forming a part of,

Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

Serial No. 116,001.

which the body portion 1 of the knife is clamped. 8 designates a drive pulley (Fig. II) formed integral with the disk 7 and secured to the rotatable shaft '2 by means of a set screw 9.

A segmental side guard C comprises a guard member 10 having an arcuate outer edge which lies adjacent to the cutting edge of the flaring blade. The outer edge of the guard member 10 is cut away at 11 to expose a portion of the blade, as shown in Fig. I. A collar 12, surrounding one of the bearing members 1, has a segmental flange 13 which is secured to the segmental guard member by means of screws 14: and 15. Yieldable material 16, such as leather or rubber, is interposed between the segmental guard member 10 and the segmental flange 13. The guard member 10 may be accurately adjusted toward or away from the cutting edge of the knife, by tightening or loosening the screw 14, the interposed material 16 being free to yield in response to such move ments.

I will now describe the universal guard support, which allows the guard C to be adjusted around the axis of the knife, toward and away from said axis, and in a direction parallel with said axis. An eccentric ring 17, rotatably mounted on one of the bearing members 1, is surrounded by the collar 12 which forms partof the guard C. A lug 18 extending from the eccentric ring is adapted to receive a tool for turning the eccentric ring on the bearing member 1.

The eccentric ring may be turned in either direction for the purpose of adjusting the mental guard member 10 toward and away from the aXis of the rotary knife. The collar 12 may be shifted on the eccentric, in a direction parallel. with the axis of the rotary knife, with the result of moving; the segmental guard member in a corresponding direction. These adjustments allow the guard member to be accurately located in any desired position with respect to the cutting edge of the knife. Furthermore, the colfar 12 may be turned on the eccentric for the purpose of moving the guard member around the axis of the knife, and the same result may be obtained by turning the collar 12 and the eccentric on the bearing member 1. This allows the guard member to be adjusted to various positions near the circular path of the cutting edge, the object being to ion.

-wgxx enable" different operators to perform the fieshing operations at difierent points on the circle, so that each operator may adjust the device to a position that will enable him to obtain the most satisfactory results.

After the guard C has been adjusted to the desired position it may be securely held byiti'ghtening a set screw '20. (Fig. I) to secure the collar 12 to the eccentric ring 17, and then tightening the screw 21 to firmly force the eccentric ring into frictional engagement with the frame A.

A flaring peripheral guard member 10", associated with the guard member 10, is securedto a flange 18 on a collar 12 the latter beingfitted to an eccentric ring 17o-n a bearing member 1. These elements constitute an adjustable support for the guard member 10, and since they are constructed and arranged, in the same manner as the means for supporting the guard member 10, a further description of the variousadjustmentsis deemed unnecessary.

v The] means for sharpening the flaring bladecomprises a pair of sharpening rods 22 each of which is slidably mounted in a bearing '28 and provided with a. sharpening head Qdzadapted to engage the blade. Each bearing 23 is pivotally. connected tothe frame A to allow the sharpener to move toward and away from'the cutting edge of the blac c. It will be observed that the sharpening heads 24 lie at opposite sides of the blade, and that they may be forced into-engagement with the blade and reciprocated trai'isversely of the blade while the rotary knife is in motion.

The skin is pulled'firmly along the arcuate the purpose of stretching it at the cutting edge, the object being to stretch the skin uniformly in all directions at this point. lfhe guards 10 and 10 are arranged at an acute angle to each other, thus allowing the skin to stretch circumforentially of the cutting edge in response tothc pulling action whereby the skin is forced onto and drawn across the guards. If the guards 10 and 10 were arranged at an obtuse angle or at a right angle to each other. (as they would necessarily be if associated with a cylindrical knife) the same desirable"stretchingaction could not be obtained, and for this reason it is generally rccognized that a satisfactorystretching action cannot be accomplished by fleshing machines having cylindrical knives. Howev r, by flaring the annular blade 5 as herein shown, its plain cutting edge will be prop-= erly presented to theskin, and the guards can be arranged at an acute angle to each other to provide for the desired stretching action.

I claim:

1. In a fieshin g machine. a rotary fleshing knife. a guard located adjacent to said rotary knife, and a universal support for said guard, said universal support being adjustable to allow'said guard to move toward and away from the axis of the knife, around said axis and. in a direction substantially parallel with said axis. 7

2. In a fieshing machine, a fleshing knife, a guard adjacent to thecutting edge of said knife, an eccentricfor adjusting said guard to change its position with respect to said cutting edge, and means for securing guard and eccentric.

3. Ina fleshing machine, a rotary fleshing knife, a guard adjacent to the cutting edge of said rotary knife, an eccentric ring sur rounding the axis of said rotary knife, said guard being tted to said eccentric ring and the latter being adjustable to move the guard toward and away from the axis of the knife.

i. In a fleshing machine, a fleshing knife, a guard located adjacent to the cutting edge of said knife, said guard being provided with a collar, aneccentric surrounded by and fitted to said collar, a bearing to which said eccentric is rotatablyfitted, said eccentric being adjustable to change the position of said guard with respectto the cutting ed e of said fleshing knife, and means for securing said guard.

5. Ina flashing machine, a fieshing knife, a guard member adjacent to the cutting edge of said knife, a support for said guard member, yieldable material'between said guard member and its support, and an adjustable fastening device securingsaid-guard member to its support, said fastening device being adapted to compress said yieldable-material so as to ad ust the guard member;

WILLIAM G. GIBBINS.

capes of'this patent may be obtained.v for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of- IPatents, Washington, D. 0; 

